And just like that, it’s goneagain—the word on the tipof your tongue, the thought,the name, the face, the time,the energy you’d summonedfor a moment, which made everythingmake sense— The word:blank, the thought: blank, the name:blank, the face: blank,the time, the energy—allelusive now, as if dreamt,irretrievable, though you go backto bed, hoping the scentof the sheets, the tiltof your head, the darknessitself might trigger a re-collection— It soundedlike water. It meantsomething. You called ityours. His eyes werepenetrating. The night waslong. You were nottired.

BRIT WASHBURNMANUELA THAMES

Brit Washburn is a creative writing graduate of Interlochen Arts Academy in Northern Michigan, where she was born and raised, and Goddard College in Vermont, with further studies at Eugene Lang College in New York City and the University of Hawai’i. She lived in Brazil, France, and Charleston, South Carolina, before moving to Asheville, North Carolina, in 2017. The winner of two consecutive Albion Prizes for Poetry, Brit's poems and essays have appeared in such journals and anthologies as Alexandria Quarterly, Art Mag, Controlled Burn, The Dunes Review, and Manoa. Brit has been a resident of the Vermont Studio Center, served for many years on the board of the Poetry Society of South Carolina, and was co-director of the literary salon Poets House South. The mother of four, Brit’s additional work includes editing, indexing, ghostwriting, cooking, and teaching yoga. Her blog consists of “a reader's reflections on religion and relationship, with recipes.”

Manuela Thames was born and raised in Germany but now calls St. Paul, Minnesota, her home. She spends her days creating photographs, taking care of two boys and two cats, exploring the Twin Cities with her husband, and daydreaming of all the places in the world she still wants to visit. To view more of her work visit www.manuelathamesphotography.com

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STORY BY HÉLÈNE SCHWITZER-BORGIALLOENGLISH TRANSLATION BY KAMI L. RICE

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